The Third Task
by Hatteress
Summary: Second in the 'Tasks' series. Lord Voldemort's dastardly plan is about to be put into action. The evil Moody imposter has set the trap. If all goes well Harry Potter should be dead before midnight! They really should have checked that Dawn wasn't invited.


I don't own the characters or settings in this story. I'm not trying to make money. If you want to sue, prepare for lots of crying as I hand you my computer and a partly payed ticket to London. Cheers.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn picked her way along the benches until she reached the spare seat next to Cho. Cho for her part grinned up at her.

"Hey! You get it?"

Dawn grinned back, brandishing a large cardboard box brightly striped red and white at the other girl.

"Freshly popped and slathered in buttery goodness."

Cho laughed and took the box from her as Dawn dropped into her seat.

"I still find it strange that they would sell popcorn at something like this."

"It was Dean Thomas' idea. He's muggle-born you know – I'm surprised no one has hotdogs."

It was at about that point that Spike sprawled down next to Dawn, a big steaming hotdog in his hand. Cho grinned and Dawn rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing with that? You don't eat."

"I do when it's a frank. Bloody brilliant inventions."

Dawn's nose wrinkled.

"There's a guy named frank in there?"

Cho almost fell over laughing behind her.

"A frank Dawn – it's another word for hotdog."

Dawn blinked.

"I knew that."

"Sure you did nibblet."

"Has the tournament commenced?"

Dawn shook her head as a rail-thin woman sat down next to Spike. Dawn had never met Fred when she was alive but apparently this woman was her…well, her outsides anyway. Everyone had thought Illyria in her natural blue would raise a few eyebrows, even in the wizarding world, so she'd been persuaded into her human form for the afternoon.

"Nah, everyone's just getting instructions I think."

"They're afraid," said a quiet voice.

Dawn looked around Cho at Dana. The girl was gazing down at the competitors at the beginning of the maze with a dark look on her face. This didn't really surprise Dawn - Dana always had a dark look on her face. Not that she could really blame the girl, with all she'd been through.

Dana had come to the slayers around four months ago just after the incident with the lake. She'd been out of control, unable to tell the difference between her slayer dreams, reality and her own nightmares. The first time Dawn had seen her she'd been locked behind glass in a room not unlike what she imagined the initiative had once used. Everyone had been at such a loss as to how to help her. Anytime anyone even came near the glass she would attack. Until Dawn.

Everyone had been amazed that day as Dana uncurled herself from her customary foetal position and approached the glass with something akin to wonder in her eyes.

"Little sister," she'd said. "Little sister's all green."

And that had been it. Dawn had spent just about every weekend from then on in London. Thank god for Willow's transportation spells or Dawn would have sent the council broke with all the air fares. Two months went by and Dana improved with every visit. Somehow Dawn's presence seemed to ground the girl. Then one night Dana had a dream that sent her attacking the walls again. Dawn had been called from school. Dana had been frantic. It'd taken Dawn two hours before she could get any sense from her. What she'd had to say had seen thirty-six slayers plus Buffy, Faith and Willow personally to LA.

They'd returned three days later bloody, bruised and trailing Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn and Illyria. Dana had saved their lives.

Wesley had been the worst injured. It had been only luck that had seen Willow the one sent after him. Apparently she'd pulled him back from the brink, stitching him up from the inside with magic. Gunn wasn't far behind him but they'd all survived thanks to the slayers.

Dawn didn't know the specifics but apparently Angel had decided to try and yank the world from the grips of evil or something. And there were thorns involved. She'd definitely heard something about thorns. Anyway, long story short the AI gang were now working with the slayers, fighting the good fight and all that while keeping out of the way of the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart that were still uber-pissed at them for what they did in LA.

Wesley had slotted back into the new council like he'd been made for it. He was now heading five slayers of his own plus doing his part to re-stock the library lost with the bombing of the watchers council. After he'd recovered Gunn had headed straight for the new hellmouth in Cleveland. Something about getting back on the field after being cooped up in an office for so long.

Angel had stayed in London but Dawn didn't think that was going to last too long. There was something weird going on between him and Buffy. Every time they got together now the subject always seemed to stray to cookie dough and, as weird as the connection was, Dawn was almost positive it was going to lead to Angel moving to Rome. She only hoped she graduated and moved out before the inevitable reunion occurred for real. As much as she thought the two of them were destined she did not want to live in the same house as Buffy in Angel-love again. It was just too gross.

Surprisingly, especially given the eyes Buffy and Angel were making at each other all the time, Spike too had stayed in London. As far as Dawn could tell he'd made it his goal in un-life to annoy as many people as vampiricly possible. He'd also attached himself to Dana for some inexplicable reason. Weirder still was that Dana let him. She'd acted her usual violent self at first, especially when Spike had convinced everyone to let her out and spar with him. Dana had held nothing back that day and Spike had taken it without complaint. Everyone had thought he was insane – he didn't even fight back. When he'd asked to do it again a couple of days later everyone had looked at him like he had a second head but Spike had this annoying way of getting what he wanted.

The spars went on for three weeks before something different happened. Dana stopped fighting. When it became apparent Spike wasn't going to fight back again she just stopped. Dawn had been there, she wasn't supposed to be because Spike had stipulated private sessions but she was Dawn Summers after all.

That day Dana had collapsed on the mats and started sobbing like her heart was splitting open. Dawn had almost broken down herself at the sight of it. Spike had paused for a moment and Dawn had waited for him to run in the other direction to escape the tears. But he hadn't. Instead he'd sat down next to Dana and talked. Dawn had been too far away to hear what was said but whatever it was had made an impression. Spike and Dana had been fairly inseparable ever since.

Much to Giles' chagrin he'd had to make Spike Dana's watcher. Spike had gotten a kick out of that simply because it annoyed Giles and Angel so damn much. In time, Dana came to be okay around people. At first it was just a few, Illyria being one of the first since when the smurfette wasn't around Wesley she was around Spike. Eventually public places weren't even a problem though the council still insisted on two beings with super-strength chaperoning her at all times.

Looking at Dana now, dressed in Jeans and a Sex Pistols T-shirt Dawn could barely reconcile the image with what she remembered of the girl when she'd first seen her. It was good. The change was good.

Dawn watched as Cho wrapped one arm around Dana's shoulders and pointed down to the small crowd milling around the beginning of the maze that signified the third task of the Tri-wizard tournament.

"The blonde girl there is Fleur and the one next to her with the big shoulders is Victor Krum – they're for the other schools. Hogwarts champions are Harry Potter – there he is, the cute skinny one with black hair – and Cedric, the tall one next to him that Dawn keeps making eyes at."

Dawn almost choked on her popcorn.

"I do not!"

Cho laughed and Dana smiled slightly beside her. Dawn got the feeling she was just glad to be included.

"Ah, so that's the one that pulled you out of the lake," said Spike and Dawn rolled her eyes. She was never going to hear the end of that one.

It was quickly becoming her most memorable kidnapping simply because the entire thing was a huge mistake to begin with. Cedric had been right, it had been Fudge's fault. The stupid windbag had figured that since she was muggle, he would just take her, use her as bait and then return her with a wiped memory to where she'd come from. Of course he hadn't really counted on her sister being the slayer and her friend being Willow Rosenburg.

Buffy had turned up in a right tiff just in time to choke Fudge half to death and then grab her up from a most important conversation with Cedric in the shallows of the lake. She'd barely even paused to accept Dumbledore's apology – apparently Fudge had given him the impression that all the hostages were taken willingly – before she whisked Dawn back off home. Dawn barely got time to wave to Cho before she was standing, dripping wet in the middle of Council Headquarters in London. She didn't get to say goodbye to Cedric at all.

Two weeks later they had received a letter from Dumbledore apologising for everything that had happened. Cho and Cedric had explained to him exactly who they were and who Buffy was and Dawn had almost laughed when the headmaster actually thanked Buffy for not doing more damage than she had. He'd then gone on to extend to them an invitation 'as a token of good will' to attend the third task of the Tri-wizard tournament, this time as observers.

Dawn had jumped at the chance but Buffy had been against it. It had taken a full month of nagging before she finally relented. But there were conditions. Since Buffy herself didn't want to go Dawn was to take a willing watcher-slayer team to watch her back. Dawn had thought she had it easy until it became abundantly clear that there was no team that would a) be in the country at the time of the tournament or b) have the time to come with her. Buffy had thought she'd won. But then she hadn't counted on Spike becoming a watcher two weeks before the tournament.

It had taken a bit of organising but finally she'd gotten permission from Dumbledore to bring Spike and Dana. Illyria had tagged along at the last minute but that hadn't been a problem either. Dawn got the feeling Dumbledore was going very out of his way to accommodate them to try and make up for Fudge's mistake. She supposed she couldn't really blame him. Making an enemy of the new council was becoming more and more dangerous as time went by and more slayers were found and trained.

They'd arrived this afternoon and had been set up in a set of rooms close to the Ravenclaw dorms. Five minutes into their stay had seen Cho knocking on their door and throwing her arms around Dawn. Dawn didn't think she'd ever seen the girl so excited, talking about showing her around Hogwarts and the like. Or at least that's what Dawn thought she was talking about, when she got excited Cho's Scottish accent sort of took over her tongue.

They'd had dinner in the great hall with the students. Dawn could remember heading down to it with her heart doing a weird sort of ramba in her chest. She was going to see Cedric. She was going to see Cedric for the first time since the lake.

It had all started last summer. Dawn had noticed Cedric the moment he walked through the doors of slayer central. Well, she and every other female in the building. He was all with the tall and the handsome and that smile…oh there was all kinds of melting when he smiled. Dawn had fallen very heavily into crush mode very quickly. But that was okay. After Xander and then Spike, Dawn was quite used to having impossible jonzes.

But then they'd started hanging out. Things just went downhill from there. Even when Cho joined them when she had a free from training Dawn still couldn't make her heart sit still in his presence. By the end of the holidays it had almost become a physical pain.

It never occurred to her to tell him. Crushes just didn't work that way for her. It was impossible that he felt the same way so she wasn't willing to put herself through the embarrassment of rejection. She had settled on keeping her fantasies to herself and just making do with a couple of letters passed between them.

Of course when she'd been planning all this she hadn't counted on being kidnapped by a magical government and used as a prop in an inter-school competition.

If getting rescued from a lake by the one you've been trying your best not to imagine kissing you wasn't bad enough, Cedric had gone and said something in the shallows that day that made Dawn take another look at her ethics concerning crushes. Precious he'd said. She was…precious to him. Her knees got all gooy just thinking about it. It was ridiculous. She couldn't concentrate on anything anymore. She'd been called up for daydreaming in class she didn't know how many times and as much as she loved being scolded in Italian she didn't think her marks would stay un-effected for long. She knew she had to talk to him. Dinner at Hogwarts seemed the perfect time.

Of course it had been an absolute disaster.

She'd just stood, staring at him. She couldn't even get her tongue to form a hello. He seemed about the same – his mouth kept opening and closing without anything coming out. It was Cho that saved her in the end by dragging her off to join the others at the Ravenclaw table.

On another note, as she was reeling from her horrible attempt to say a single word to Cedric, Dawn couldn't help noticing that Cho made a point of passing quite close to a table whose students were all in red and saying good luck to a boy with wild black hair and glasses. She also couldn't help noticing that the boy had put his elbow in his mashed potato and when Dawn looked at Cho as they walked away the slayer was blushing quite hard.

At the end of the meal that Dawn had mostly spent shooting looks over at the Hufflepuff table, everyone had been ushered outside. And there they were.

Dawn looked again over at Cho who still had her arm around Dana as she explained the rules of the tournament to them all. Most of the slayers in London were too afraid to approach Dana. Nearly everyone knew the girl's story and those that didn't were told fairly quickly. As a result, eggshells had nothing on what was stepped on around the girl. It was sad to watch, the way the other slayers always kept one eye on her and were quick to stifle any laughter in her vicinity. They didn't mean it, Dawn knew – they just didn't know how to handle what Dana had been through.

The friendly way Cho had thrown her arm around Dana was a rare occurrence. But then that was Cho. Dawn had told her about Dana in one of the many letters that flew between them so she knew the story. The difference was Cho wasn't afraid of it. Dawn didn't know why, but it seemed in fitting with Cho's nature. The girl tended to take people under her wing almost subconsciously.

Spike had noticed it as well, Dawn could tell. Despite the doubts just about everyone in the council had Dawn knew Spike cared about Dana. She wasn't even going to try and fathom the reasons it had come about but it had. And right now he was watching Cho trying to make his girl laugh. Dawn grinned a little, ducking her head into her popcorn. Cho still hadn't been assigned a watcher but from the way things were going she could see a certain vampire making a bid.

"Ladies and Gentleman, the third and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament is about to begin!"

Dawn looked up sharply along with everyone else. Down at the bottom of the stands, standing a little way away from the main group was a portly man dressed in bright yellow striped robes. He held a wand to his throat as his voice boomed around the stadium. Dawn found herself thanking the powers that Buffy hadn't known this little trick in the times of the speeches back in the battle with the first.

"Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, on eighty-five points each – Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"

Dawn screamed and cheered with the rest of them, Cho right beside her.

"In second place, on eighty points – Mr Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang institute!"

Again came a chorus of cheers, not as much as the first but not far behind. Cho leaned over to her.

"He's a famous Quidditch player – plays for the Bulgarian National Team," she explained. Dawn nodded, only half understanding. She knew as much about Quidditch as Cedric and Cho had been able to explain. They were both seekers for their respective teams apparently. Dawn still didn't fully understand the game and had been told she probably never would until she saw a game played.

"And in third place – Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

The cheering rose again and Dawn blinked down at the girl who was waving at the crowd politely.

"No way is she human," she said.

Cho opened her mouth to explain but was beat to it by Spike of all people.

"Veela blood. 'T has to be."

Cho nodded at him.

"Her grandmother apparently."

Spike snorted and popped the last of his hotdog in his mouth. Dawn was going to ask what a Veela was but never got a chance as a whistle rang out and the cheering hit an all-time high as Cedric and the boy Harry disappeared into the maze. A moment later Krum and then Fleur were right behind them.

Dawn sat back as the cheering died down and turned to Cho.

"Now what?"

"Now we wait."

"What? So you can't even see what's going on?"

Cho grabbed a handful of popcorn from the box in Dawn's hand.

"Now you know how I felt at the lake."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cedric's heart was pounding. This was no real surprise he supposed as he was running about a dark and dangerous maze trying to find a cup that three others were also after. The surprise was that this wasn't why his heart was pounding. Well, not all of it anyway.

She was here. Dawn Summers. He'd been thinking about her for months and now she was here. He'd almost keeled right over when Cho had told him she was coming to watch the third task. He'd been trying to pluck up the courage to send her a letter ever since the lake but he just couldn't seem to work out what to say to her.

Dear Dawn,

Sorry my enormous crush on you got you kidnapped and held at the bottom of a lake.

Love Cedric

Yeah right. He knew he had to talk to her. She kept invading his head now. He just couldn't stop thinking about how she'd looked at the lake - all dripping wet, her hair a great big snarl atop her head. He'd never seen anything so beautiful.

And now she was here, watching him. He'd been fantasising about it for days, how he'd walk up to her with everyone cheering, the tri-wizard cup in one hand as he used the other to pull her to him and kiss the hell out of her. Just thinking about it made his lips tingle.

He was pulled out of his thoughts quite suddenly as a bang resounded through the night and a jet of fire streamed across his field of vision, singing one of his shirt-sleaves. Cedric blinked a few times from the glare before his vision cleared. When it did he rather wished it hadn't. Three Blast-ended Skrewts, looking monstrous in the moonlight scuttled up the path towards him.

Okay, he got the feeling this was a very real sign he should pay attention to where he was going from now on. He could think about Dawn's lips later, right now he had a cup to find.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn crumpled the popcorn box into a ball and huffed.

"This is ridiculous, we have no idea what's going on."

Cho shrugged apologetically.

"No one does, except Moody I guess."

Spike's head suddenly whipped up.

"Moody? Alastor Moody?"

"Yeah that's him," Cho said.

Dawn noticed a fair few expressions flit across Spike's face before, rather more slowly, a smirk slid across it.

"Come on Dawn, lets go ask Moody what's going on."

Dawn knew that tone of voice all too well. Spike was about to cause some trouble. But what the hey, she was bored and this Mood guy might be able to tell her how Cedric was doing. She stood up beside Spike. Cho leapt up beside her.

"I don't know if we're allowed Dawn, Moody's supposed to be monitoring the tournament…"

"Now pet, we won't distract him much," Spike said in a voice that told Dawn otherwise. "You coming Blue? Dana?"

Illyria raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. This waiting bores me."

Dana nodded and stood. Dawn watched as Cho's face scrunched up in indecision.

"Come on Cho, we're just gunna talk to him."

"Oh fine," Cho said. "But just remember you guys can't be given detention with Filch.

The five of them made their way down the stands as inconspicuously as possible until they reached the grass. Despite the fact Spike had said they weren't going to try and break any rules they all snuck around the officials and jogged along towards the shadows along the side of the maze Moody was supposed to be monitoring.

It didn't take them long to find him.

"Professor Moody!"

The man spun at Cho's cry, wand raised. Dawn was a little taken aback by the sight of him, especially the eye. That was just creepy.

"Ah. Miss Chang is it? You're not supposed to be down here."

Dawn watched as Cho swallowed nervously.

"Oh. Sorry sir. We were just wondering if you could tell us what's going on in the maze. No one can see anything from the front."

Dawn took a moment as Cho was talking to Moody to look up at the wall of hedge beside them. Cedric was in there somewhere. Dawn shuddered. If the outside was any indication she wasn't real sure she'd like to be on the inside. She was yanked out of her musings as a heavy hand landed on her shoulder. Jumping slightly she turned to find Spike leaning down to her, the look on his face more serious than he'd ever seen it as he looked past her to Moody.

"You and Cho need to get back to that Dumbledore guy quick smart nibblet," he said quietly.

"What? Why?"

The danger in Spike's voice was audible.

"Because that's not Moody."

Dawn frowned, dropping her voice as well.

"How can you tell?"

"I know Moody. He's the one that drove me from London a fair few years ago. This ain't him. The smell's all wrong."

"That's the problem with Pollyjuice. You never can get the smell right."

Dawn looked up just in time to see Moody grab Cho and yank her bodily to him, his wand aimed at her head.

"No one move," he commanded. Spike froze mid lunge, murder written all over his face. Moody eyed him.

"I knew you were going to be a problem. I've never liked vampires. Something Moody and I have in common."

Spike shrugged, falling back onto his customary nonchalance in the face of adversity.

"I was never very fond of him either to tell you the truth. I hope you haven't killed him though, I sorta promised him I'd be the one doing the honours one day."

"Life is disappointment," the not-Moody spat, tightening his hold on Cho. Spike took note of it.

"You're making a very big mistake mate."

Moody scoffed.

"You think I can't take care of one vampire?"

"Oh no, I just don't think you can choose hostages very well."

Cho took her cue and kicked her leg up solidly over her shoulder, catching the not-Moody full in the face. He staggered backwards as she pulled out of his grip and spun to face him in full fighting stance. The not-Moody never stood a chance. His wand was knocked from his grip with one blow and he was unconscious at Cho's feet three more later.

Spike grinned and clapped Cho on the shoulder.

"Well done Pet."

Dawn watched as Cho beamed under the praise and almost grinned herself. Oh yeah, Spike was so gunna be a watcher of two soon.

"It's all black," Dana said quietly.

All eyes turned to the other slayer as she knelt down by the fallen body. Dawn stepped forward.

"What is Dana?"

As if in answer Dana reached out grabbed the not-Moody's wrist, turning it up so his forearm was visible. The effect on Cho was instantaneous.

"He's a deatheater!" she cried, stepping back hurriedly.

"A what?"

"You-know-who's servant!"

Dawn was still lost and Cho could obviously see it.

"V-Voldemort," she said staggeringly.

"Oh bloody hell," Spike swore. The tone of his voice did not sound good to Dawn.

"Bad?"

"Bad," Spike said, pulling Dana to her feet beside him. "We gotta tell someone, now."

"There's no time," Cho said, stricken.

"Why not?"

Cho grabbed Dawn, her face the very picture of fear. Dawn didn't think she'd ever seen the girl so worked up.

"You remember what they said. Moody was in charge of placing the cup in the maze, he could have done anything. Harry's in there!"

Dawn shook her head.

"What does Harry have to do with anything?" she asked.

"Harry Potter, I knew I recognised the name."

Dawn looked up at Spike in askance.

"A prophecy," he explained quickly. "The boy's supposed to kill the big bad."

"That Voldi-guy?"

Nods all round. Dawn huffed.

"God I hate prophecies."

"I can get to the cup," Cho said suddenly. "I can get there fast."

"I'm going with her," Dawn said immediately. Spike looked at her for a moment and she waited for the obligatory 'But Dawn, you're too fragile and weak' she usually got from everyone but it never came.

Spike nodded.

"Okay, Dana, you gotta sound the alarm pet."

"Go to Dumbledore, the one with the big white beard. Tell him Harry's in danger," Cho instructed.

Dana nodded silently and took off down the way they'd come. Dawn watched her go before turning back to Cho as the girl pulled out her wand.

"Accio Nimbus 2000."

Dawn still found it weird when they said spells around her. Speaking of spells.

"Spike get down!"

"Reducto!"

A jet of red flew over Spike's head as he hit the ground and rolled. Dawn backed away as the not-Moody levelled a glare in her direction and raised his wand again.

"Adav-"

He never finished as Illyria ploughed a fist into his stomach.

"Go!" Spike yelled, circling the not-Moody from the other side.

Dawn felt a hand grab her arm and spun to find Cho standing next to…a broom.

"What-"

Before she could even get the question past her lips Cho had grabbed her and swung her up over the broom behind her. Dawn screamed and latched onto Cho as her feet abruptly left the earth and the two of them went soaring through the air.

-------------------------------------------------------

Dana pounded along, following the hedge around to the beginning of the maze. She had to get to the wizard. Had to tell him. Spike had told her.

If anyone had told her four months ago that she would be following the instructions of a vampire she would have called them crazy. Then again, she would have been one to talk. Dana knew she was confused. She knew that after…after it had happened she'd gone a little wrong. She could remember the nights and days in the room with the squashy walls – she could remember the fear. And then she could remember the power.

It had whispered to her one day. Warm and inviting. 'Are you ready?' And she had been. She hadn't counted on the confusion. On the blood. She had a destiny, she knew she did she just hadn't been able to tell what it was. She'd seen vampires in humans and humans in vampires. She knew people had died – people that didn't deserve to. If she remembered hard she could almost feel their blood on her hands. She didn't like to remember. It made her stomach do funny things and she wanted to throw up.

She was a monster. She was the girl.

And then she was just a girl. She was suddenly around others like her. She thought she was home at first but none of them knew. None of them remembered the blood. She'd started to get lost again. Until little sister. Dawn. She had to protect Dawn. For the first time in a very long time it was something she knew was true and real. She held onto that. And slowly she began to piece together what she was. Who she was. What she'd done. It had been killing her. And then Spike.

Somehow, she knew now that he'd known. Everything was pain. Everything needed to die and so she'd fought. She'd bruised and scratched and broken the flesh until there was no more to hurt. But he came back. He always came back. And then one day she didn't want to be a monster anymore. She kept seeing the death and the blood and she didn't want to be the cause. She'd broken. And he'd helped her.

"I know what you are pet and I know what you've done. We're alike in that you and I. We both have blood on our hands. I'm not going to tell you that it wasn't your fault because it was. It always will be. And as long as you know that there's hope for you."

She'd done it. It was her fault. And she knew it. Spike had taught her something fundamentally important in her own personal chain of events. First came the fear. Then came the power. Then-then came the control. She had control now and she wasn't going to let it go. She still had the blood-lust but they'd told her that came with being a slayer. Everyone said she was more viscous than most but Spike had told her that wasn't a bad thing. Channelled the right way it would keep her alive. And it had. She always listened to Spike.

Her breath puffing in front of her, Dana neared the final turn that would bring her within view of the stands. A scream suddenly went up from within the maze. Dana froze. She knew screams. She'd caused her fair share. Perhaps because of this, she couldn't turn away from them. She always listened to Spike.

Spike had always told her to follow her instincts.

Without hesitation Dana crouched low and vaulted over the hedge into the maze.

-------------------------------------------------

Cho and Dawn soared over the maze, both squinting down, trying to see through the heavy sheet of mist covering the tops of the hedges. The broom beneath them jerked again.

"Why the hell does it keep doing that?" Dawn cried, doubling her grip on Cho.

"Must be the magical interference," Cho said. "There's a lot of enchantments down there."

Cho guided the tetchy broom a little more towards the centre of the maze.

"Can you see anything?"

"No, can we get any lower?"

"Hang on."

The broom dipped a little lower and began to vibrate a little under them. Dawn moaned.

"Oh god I hate this."

------------------------------------------------

Illyria rose to her feet and strode toward her opponent. It was most annoying. Every time she got near the creature he aimed his small sliver of wood at her and knocked her back again. He'd shouted multiple different words while doing this and the colours were all different but the result was always the same. She was knocked back. Sometimes a step or so and sometimes onto the ground but always backwards. From the look on the creature's face she wasn't sure this was what the words were designed to do.

"You are becoming tiresome," she informed the creature. He turned his face on her, red from exertion and for the first time didn't immediately throw power at her.

"W-what are you?" he asked. Somewhere to her side, Spike groaned. That was not good. She'd come to take pleasure in Spike's company. The creature would pay.

"I am Illyria. You will not defeat me."

The creature's face turned stony in an expression Illyria had come to recognise as determination. It raised it's stick.

"Avada Kadavra!"

Illyria cocked her head just before the curse hit her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike went rigid as he saw the killing curse plough into Illyria…and then through Illyria. It was one of those moments that aught to have been played in slow-motion. The green flash hit her and seemed to be absorbed into her skin for a fraction of a moment before quite suddenly there was a body flying backwards from where Illyria in all her blue glory was still standing.

Spike blinked. The not-Moody blinked. Fred groaned from her position sprawled on the ground and Illyria landed a punch that would have the not-Moody seeing stars for a while to come.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Krum felt as if he was floating. Everything was warm and everything was right just so long as he took Fleur and Cedric out of the running for the cup.

"Crucio!"

Fleur screamed again, writhing on the ground in agony. This was good. But then why did his stomach feel like ice. Why did he feel like he wanted to throw up? He watched as a tear trickled down Fleur's cheek and suddenly yanked his arm away. Fleur's screams cut off and almost immediately a searing pain went through his head.

"Please…please…"

"Stupify."

And then she was quiet. Everything was right. And he still wanted to throw up. He threw up red sparks before turning and jogging down the path. She was out of the running. She was out. Only Cedric to go.

A dark shadow suddenly landed in front of him at a crouch. Krum raised his wand automatically and muttered 'Lumos'. The shadow became a girl with such dark eyes. As he watched, she straightened slowly like a cat.

"You're being bad."

He was.

"I saw you."

Thank Merlin.

"I'm going to stop you."

Please.

He raised his arm and threw a Reducto curse at her. She dodged faster than anything he'd ever seen. Before he knew it he was on his back and she was straddling his chest keeping him pinned to the ground as she leaned over him.

"Please."

The girl paused as Krum's head exploded with pain.

"D-don't let me hurt anyone…"

The girl locked eyes with him and in that moment Krum put a trust in her he'd never put in anyone. And then he snarled and bucked her off. Scrambling to his feet he threw a Stupify at her that she rolled away from. She turned to face him once more, every movement grace and some part of him sagged in relief at the dangerous grin on her face. She would win. He knew it. He wouldn't hurt anyone else.

-------------------------------------------------

"There!" Dawn yelled suddenly. Cho followed her outstretched finger to a slight golden glow emanating from a round break in the hedges. The centre of the maze. Cho yanked the broom around and bolted straight for it. Please don't let them be too late. Please don't let them be too late.

It was strange. She feared for Cedric plenty and yet the strange panic in her stomach seemed to flare any time she thought of Harry. She didn't think she could handle it if something happened to him. She was…she was…oh dammit she'd work out what she was later, right now she had to save people.

Dropping like a stone, down through the mist, Cho wrestled with her broom, trying to keep it pointing where she wanted to go. There was so much magical disturbance down here she was having trouble just keeping a hold of it. She was just about to lose her grip when she saw them. Cedric and Harry standing in front of the cup. From the look of it, Harry was injured, leaning on Cedric for support. Both of them had looks of determination on their faces as they raised their hands together to grab each handle of the cup.

She and Dawn started yelling at the same time but it was as if the boys couldn't hear them. Cho wasn't surprised, it stood to reason the entire maze had an isolation charm on it. Unfortunately this only left them one choice.

"Hold on!" she yelled over her shoulder as she angled the broom sharply down and dove towards the cup. She could hear Dawn screaming behind her and it took her a moment to realise she'd joined her at some point as well. They broke the isolation charm the second before the boys hands made contact with the cup. Harry and Cedric both looked up at the sudden hollering but neither thought to stop their hands descending on the cup. The girls ploughed into them the moment their hands made contact and suddenly the centre of the maze was very empty.

------------------------------------------------

Harry felt the air power out of his lungs as he finally hit solid ground. He was really starting to hate portkeys. It was, of course, at this point he felt someone fall bodily on top of him. When he looked up to find Cho's pretty face looking back some part of him wondered that maybe portkeys weren't so bad after all.

"Cho! Harry!"

Cho blinked and scrambled off of him and Harry suddenly had a very real urge to hit Cedric for speeding up the moment. Despite this he accepted Cedric's hand up, hissing as his leg reminded him he'd just done battle with a giant spider.

"Harry, are you okay? You're hurt."

It was Cho. Some part of him felt like puffing up and declaring that no little injury like this could keep him down but he stomped it down.

"I'm okay. I'll live," he said instead.

Quite suddenly he had another girl he didn't recognise kneeling down by the gash in his leg.

"Ew, Acromantula?"

Harry blinked.

"How did you know?"

The girl got to her feet, rubbing a bit of the goo from his wound between her fingers.

"They have really distinct venom. Don't worry. Your leg will hurt like hell for a while but you'll be okay."

"Ah guys, why is there a cemetery?" Cho asked.

"Never mind that – what the hell are you guys doing here?" Cedric suddenly demanded. The strange girl huffed and crossed her arms in front of her.

"Saving your arse actually."

Harry could sympathise with the look of confusion on Cedric's face before what Cho said next made his blood run cold.

"Moody's not Moody – he's a deatheater," she turned to Harry and for once her eyes didn't make his heart skip. "This is a trap Harry and I think it's for you."

Harry's world seemed to crumble away. God not again. For a moment he stared around the cemetery sightlessly before his eyes landed on the tomb stone right behind where they'd landed. Oh…

"We have to get out of here. I've been here before."

"Harry-"

"No we have to get out now!"

Cho grabbed him and spun him around and suddenly he saw what had them all frozen. A short shadowy shape was making its way towards them through the mist.

"Ah…I'm voting for running, who's with me," said the girl Harry didn't know.

Cedric nodded.

"Yep, running sounds good."

The figure must have heard them because they barely had time to turn before they were hit with an Impedimenta curse. Harry rolled onto his back, feeling the familiar sluggishness pounding through his veins. The figure was coming closer.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he hauled himself to his feet. Beside him he could see the others struggling to right themselves as well. He looked up to find the figure practically on top of them. It was carrying something…

And that was when the pain started. Harry cried out and dropped back to his knees clutching his scar. It felt like it was burning. He'd never felt anything like it. Then he heard the voice.

"Kill the spares."

The figure raised it's wand.

"Avada Kadavra!"

Harry only just caught the look on Cedric's face as the curse sped towards him. And then suddenly Cho was there. Harry didn't even have time to yell. The curse slammed into her chest and sent them both flying. When they landed, they didn't move.

Cho and Cedric. For a full moment Harry could only stare at the bodies before he registered the figure moving onto the other girl. The look on her face was one of pure fear. The figure raised its wand.

Harry cried out just as the hissing voice came again.

"Stop!"

The wand was dropped and Harry watched as a tear escaped the girl's eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Let me look at her."

Harry watched as the figure held the bundle in his arms up before the girl. The girl's eyes opened wide in horror at whatever was under the blankets.

"Ah yes," said the voice and Harry couldn't help his shudder at the glee in its tone. "I recognise you now. Bind her Wormtail, I shall be needing her soon."

Some part of Harry snapped awake at the sound of the name.

"Wormtail…"

The hooded figure jerked around and very suddenly Harry felt the disgust coursing through him.

"You!"

He'd been just about to leap on the figure when the girl beat him to it. Harry couldn't help thinking that she did a rather better job at it than he would have done as well. With a great battle-cry she buried an elbow in Wormtail's waist and slammed a fist up into his face that would have made Goyle take a step back in admiration.

"Harry run!" she screamed. And so he did. Straight towards Wormtail. Letting loose a battle-cry of his own he leapt onto Wormtail's back and wrapped his hands around the rat's neck.

"P-Petrificus Totalis!" Wormtail choked. Harry watched as the girl froze up mid-kick and toppled over onto her side. Tightening his arms around Wormtail's neck, Harry tried to get a kick into the deatheater's back but twisting suddenly Wormtail threw him over his shoulder and onto the ground. Before he could make a move Wormtail shouted a curse that blasted him back to the tomb-stone and Harry suddenly felt ropes wrapping themselves like snakes around him. Harry struggled as he watched Wormtail re-order himself. Sometime in the struggle his hood had come down and Harry would see his face clearly, red from exertion.

"Hurry Wormtail."

It was that voice again, coming from the bundle of robes Wormtail had somehow managed to keep a hold of during the struggle. Harry gritted his teeth as his scar throbbed with pain again.

That's when he saw the cauldron. Why did he get the feeling things were about to get so much worse.

---------------------------------------------------

Dawn was panicking. She couldn't move – not one limb. She could feel everything, she knew what it should be doing but she was a prisoner in her own body. She'd never experienced anything so terrifying in her life.

In front of her, her open eyes stared out at the scene unfolding at the cauldron. She didn't have to be a genius to work out that it was a spell – and a powerful one too if she was any judge. Blood, bone and flesh. Only the darkest spells required sacrifices so great.

Oh god everything was going so wrong.

Dawn watched as the surface of the cauldron turned a blinding white as the last ingredient was added. She wanted to cry. She wanted to break down and sob but her body would not let her. It wasn't fair. Cedric and Cho were…were…and she couldn't even cry. She felt as though her insides were compacting with the pressure of it. Her friends were dead, she wanted to scream until her throat gave out. Please…

The figure that rose from the cauldron should have horrified her. It should have terrified her. As it was Dawn was far too busy housing about ten million other emotions. She watched the events play out with a sort of detached numbness.

First the others came – all hooded and cloaked.

Then the screaming of one of the figures. Voldemort was not happy with his servants. It was everything Dawn had seen a million times before. Evil never changed. It didn't surprise her when Harry was untied and given back his wand. It was a demonstration. Big evil was proving he wasn't weak anymore. Harry would die as sure as she would.

Dawn watched as Harry was forced to bow. It was all a show. Dawn felt like she wanted to retch at the sadism of it all. And then Harry started screaming. Dawn was forced to watch as his body spasmed and rolled. She'd never wished in her life for the ability to close her eyes but she wished it now – she wished it with everything she had in her.

Please…

And then it was dark. At first she thought her wish had been granted until the shadows across her eyes resolved themselves into the features of a face. A very familiar face. It was probably a good thing just then that she was still frozen because she was almost positive she would have made an awful lot of noise otherwise.

Cedric looked down at her, worry etched all over his face. Dawn watched as he looked over his shoulder at the scene with the big evil before looking frantically back to her. There was no mistaking the finger he placed over his lips. A second later Dawn went limp. All at once, everything she'd been holding in for the past minutes escaped her. Tears poured down her cheeks as she buried a fist in her mouth to try and keep from sobbing out loud. Her body immediately curled in on itself as strong arms wrapped themselves around her.

"Shh…you're okay…it's okay…"

She didn't think she'd ever heard anything so beautiful.

"Cedric?" she sobbed. "I thought…"

"Yeah me too," he said quietly, grinning down at her. "Turns out slayers are harder to kill than we imagined."

Dawn frowned before it registered that there was one too many hands patting her on the shoulder. Spinning around she came face to face with Cho. A distinctly singed and heavily bleeding Cho but Cho none the less. Dawn bit her lip to keep from cheering as she pulled the other girl in for a quick hug.

"We need to get out of here," said Cedric.

"Not without Harry," Cho whispered urgently. As if on cue, Voldemort's high hissing laughter resounded around the cemetery. All three of them froze.

"We are not playing hide and seek Harry…"

Dawn turned and saw Voldemort approaching the headstone he'd had Harry tied to earlier. She could just see Harry's outline pressed up against the stone on the opposite side. They needed to move past. Looking around frantically Dawn's eyes landed on the forgotten tri-wizard cup, lying on its side feet from where Harry was crouched.

"I've got an idea."

-------------------------------------------------------

Harry knew he was going to die. He no longer had a choice in the matter. What he could choose, however, was the means.

His mouth set in a hard line, he stepped out from behind the headstone.

So this is how it was going to be. Voldemort glaring down at him. Deatheaters circling. Cedric waving cheerfully from behind the deatheaters…hang on.

For a moment Harry completely forgot he was in the middle of a duel with the most feared wizard of his time. He dropped his wand arm and gaped openly at the picture before him. It was perhaps this honest response that saved his life. Instead of immediately blasting him to smitherines, Voldemort turned and looked over his shoulder to what had Harry so gob smacked.

Cedric waved happily at the dark lord.

"Coo-ee! You-Know-Who!"

For a full second no one knew what to do. Even the deatheaters were staring at Cedric in unabashed confusion. Voldemort was the first to recover.

"Kill him you fools!"

More than a few deatheaters fumbled for their wands before very suddenly the spot where Cedric had been was a flury of curses. Only Cedric wasn't there anymore. Harry spun around trying to see where he'd gone only to come face to face with a severely pissed-off dark lord. The wand was raised before Harry had a chance to blink.

"Avada ooof!"

Harry had seen a lot of strange stuff in his life, particularly since finding out he was a wizard. Nothing however was ever likely to measure up to the image of the Dark Lord Voldemort getting kicked in the groin by Cho Chang. Harry watched in amazement as Voldemort made a sound like a kettle coming to boil before folding up and toppling onto his side. For a full second Harry could only stand dumbfounded, staring down at his mortal enemy before Cho grabbed him and dragged him over behind the headstone he'd just left. The girl he didn't know and Cedric were already there.

"Ready?" asked Cedric.

Harry hoped it was a rhetorical question because he couldn't seem to get his mouth to work for staring at Cho. He barely even registered when the other girl slipped her hand into his.

"Accio!"

Harry looked up just as the Tri-Wizard cup zoomed into Cedric's hand and the world dropped away from beneath him.

------------------------------------------------------

Cedric slammed into the ground face first and groaned. Oh so not fun. Very suddenly the world around him exploded with cheers. Cedric groaned again. He was never entering anything ever again. Glory shmory.

"Cedric!"

He was suddenly being yanked over onto his back. He was all ready to be very annoyed with whoever it was before he saw Dawn's face looking down at him. He was almost positive the smile that spread across his face was his stupidest yet. Dawn smiled back at him.

"Are you okay?"

Cedric nodded and then groaned again when Dawn gripped his arms and helped pull him to his feet. The cheering grew louder. Cedric looked around himself for the first time, taking in the stands full of people all yelling at the top of their lungs and jumping up and down so hard they were making the ground shake. It was then that Cedric realised that he still had a hold of the Tri-Wizard Cup. Very slowly, his brain started piecing something together. Crowds, cup…

"Cedric?"

Cedric looked up at Dawn's face. His eyes dropped.

Lips.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Harry looked up just in time to see Cedric lean down and land a terrific snog on the strange girl. It looked like she was as surprised as Harry was at first but she seemed to get over it awful fast. Harry watched as Cedric tossed the Tri-Wizard cup to the ground and proceeded to wrap both arms tightly around the girl, drawing her in closer. Their lips never parted.

Harry could feel that his mouth had dropped open again and suddenly realised he was staring. Tearing his eyes away from the scene his gaze fell on Cho next to him. His heart jolted slightly with realisation. Oh poor Cho. He knew how it felt to watch someone you cared about with another all too well. It was about then that he realised Cho was grinning. Harry frowned. Huh?

Cho must have felt his eyes on her because she turned to him then, the smile still upon her face.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for them to do that."

Something in Harry screeched to a halt inside of him. For a full moment all he could do was look between Cedric and the girl snogging in front of them and then back at Cho as realisation slowly dawned.

She wasn't with Cedric.

The prettiest girl he'd ever seen – the one who made him trip over his tongue every time he saw her – the one he'd had a crush on ever since he'd come to Hogwarts – wasn't dating someone else. The sun came out from behind the clouds. Flowers bloomed all around him. Life suddenly took on a very glittery shine. Harry grinned stupidly at Cho and said the words he'd been wanting to say since the first time he'd met her.

"You kicked Voldemort in the balls."

Okay, that wasn't it. Harry frowned at himself but couldn't keep the expression in place when he noticed Cho was blushing ever so prettily.

"Yeah well, it was a lucky guess. I wasn't even all that sure he had them."

Harry had never laughed so hard in his life.

It was made somewhat worse a moment later with the appearance of a dark-haired and extremely petite girl emerging from the maze with Viktor Krum slung over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Harry didn't think Dumbledore was ever going to forgive him for explaining that their worst fears had come true and that Voldemort had risen while trying to hold in giggles. 


End file.
